Light appearing at end of tunnel for German industry - Ifo

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German industry remains in recession but is no longer in free-fall and an improvement in the sector's prospects is coming into view, the Ifo economic institute said on Thursday.

Ifo reaffirmed its 2020 growth forecast of 1.1% and increased its 2021 outlook for Europe's largest economy to growth of 1.5% from 1.4% previously forecast.

"While the performance of domestically oriented service providers and construction companies continues to improve, industry remains caught in recession," Timo Wollmershaeuser, head of forecasting at Ifo, said in a statement.

But the institute added: "The most recent order intake levels, business expectations in the manufacturing sector, and a further increase in goods exports in October indicated that the free-fall has stopped and that, gradually, light is appearing at the end of the industrial economic tunnel."

(Reporting by Rene Wagner; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Thomas Seythal)